The Problem with Crop-Based Biofuels

A new generation of biofuels, derived from farmed crops such as corn, sugarcane, rapeseed and palm has been touted as the replacement for petroleum. But these all fall short of displacing petroleum because they require vast amounts of precious resources like water, rainforests, and farmlands. Additionally, crops like corn require a great deal of energy to turn into fuel and are less energy-rich than petroleum.

Simply put, no farmed crop can compete with petroleum. Biofuels as we know them are a dead end.

Algae Is the Ideal Replacement for Oil

A small organism, micro-algae (algae), is the natural replacement for petroleum. In fact, most of the petroleum we use today is made up of ancient algae. Algae is a highly efficient biological factory capable of taking carbon dioxide (CO2), a waste product, and converting it into a high-density liquid form of natural oil through photosynthesis.

In other words, algae turns CO2, a bad thing, directly into oil, a good thing.

Benefits Algae is fast growing – each oil-producing cell can mature in just hours Algae is oil-rich — contains as much as 60% of its dry weight in oil Algae is carbon neutral – meaning that it does not affect climate like petroleum Algae is fuel efficient – as much as 1000 times more productive than corn

Challenges of Producing Algae Oil How to maximize light exposure for optimum growth How to optimize CO2 absorption to maximize oil content How to keep energy requirements low How to make systems affordable How to operate a highly efficient process flow

OriginOil’s breakthrough technology addresses these challenges and can enable the cost-efficient production of oil from algae to compete with petroleum.

With OriginOil, algae will fulfill its potential as the new oil. 

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